


Irene The Baket Street Venus

by Tendergingergirl



Category: Sherlock (TV)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-14
Updated: 2019-01-14
Packaged: 2019-09-22 13:53:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 997
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17061008
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tendergingergirl/pseuds/Tendergingergirl
Summary: September 29, 2017I wanted to post this, a long time ago, but one of the main fandom friends that I used to talk to about the inter-weaving of Myths and Astrology in BBC Sherlock left ( I miss you @longsnowmoon5!), so I shelved it. Previously, I toyed with the idea of Mycroft as Saturn. That was fun. In A Scandal In Belgravia, Aphrodite Venus, the Empress Tarot, herself, is reincarnated as Irene, who really lived up to the myth, not only coming between Sherlock and John, but also being a strong catalyst for attempting to bring their romantic relationship to the surface. Venus, the planetary body, representative of Love, is known by certain motifs: I will go through them here.





	Irene The Baket Street Venus

##  **_"What are you going to wear?” asks Kate. “My Battle Dress.”_ answers Irene.  _“Lucky Boy!”_ Irene then ask for a lip color in the shade of Blood.**

**Venus was known to always be ready for battle, and besides usually being unabashedly nude, she is represented by the color Red, for Passion. But Red was also the ancient color for War.**

**The Tarot card for Aphrodite/Venus, called The Empress, describes her sitting on a luxurious seat, with cushions, in a wooded area, next to a stream, and sometimes a waterfall, which shows her abundance, and connection to the earth:**

   **Here is Irene, on her throne, with cushions, in the woods, next to a stream, and I believe a small waterfall, in the background.**

“The astrological symbol for the planet Venus—named for the Roman’s goddess of love, Venus, who was often identified with the Greek Aphrodite—is the same symbol as that used for the biological female: a circle with a small cross beneath ( **as seen in the above tarot card, on her shield** ) In alchemy, the Venus symbol also stands for the metal copper, and this provides an interesting link between copper, females and mirrors – in antiquity, polished copper or bronze was used in mirrors. The Venus symbol is also thought to represent the very mirror of Venus or Aphrodite: therefore the connection between Aphrodite and mirrors becomes ever more pronounced…Further symbolism of the mirror shows a connection to secrets…and, as such, to the intense, secret-shattering aspects of light.” **(At last count, there were at least 5-6 mirrors in Irene’s bedroom).**  

**So, let’s see here. What secret is Irene hiding behind her ~~Shield~~ Mirror? That’s right: Her ~~Heart~~ Phone.** _“The shield is a paradox…the paradox is that where there is love there is instant protection, yet to love also requires our vulnerabilities.”[X](https://t.umblr.com/redirect?z=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.tarotteachings.com%2Fempress-tarot-card-meanings.html&t=NjAyZDZlMzQxMzJmNThkY2Y2ZWZlYjdlMTJiODE2NDI3NTJlZGVkZSxsZk1ZMmtTRg%3D%3D&b=t%3A99US-dd59KEFK-T_oX2E5Q&p=https%3A%2F%2Ftendergingergirl.tumblr.com%2Fpost%2F165526540486%2Firene-the-baker-st-venus&m=1) _

**Also, don’t forget Sherlock’s words, before attempting to figure out the safe code: _“I really hope you don’t have a baby in here.”_**

**The Empress tarot is often shown as pregnant, symbolizing that** _“the situation is_ ** _pregnant with promise!_ ( **[Read Sonnet 59 meta, where Sherlock makes John a promise](https://tendergingergirl.tumblr.com/post/165334367046/59-the-cycle-of-life)) _\- full of opportunity. Along with the symbolism of pregnancy holding promise, comes the waiting period. Just as there is an incubation time until the child comes forth, so too is there a time of waiting until our desires become manifest.”_ **So we wait. As Sherlock says, that’s what targets do.**

“(All) of this links back to the planet Venus, which in Ancient Greece was ruled by two gods, one of which was named Eôsphoros (bringer of dawn) or Phôsphoros (bringer of light); identifying Aphrodite’s sacred planet, Venus, as a bringer of light…The mirror also, in turn, symbolises revelation and truth: the mirror often shows the face, and the eyes, as shown in the painting Venus At Her Mirror by Diego Rodriguez de Silva y Velazquez, in which the goddess gazes into the mirror with only her face revealed.”

**Here, her hair is even similar to Irene’s, as are the color found in Irene’s home; Red, Black, and White.**

“The eyes, in turn, are the paths to truth: they are the “window to the soul”, or, ever-more interestingly, the “mirror of the soul.” Aphrodite, in gazing into the mirror, is therefore not merely enjoying the sight of her own beauty, but is acknowledging the truth of all that resides within her…” [X](https://t.umblr.com/redirect?z=https%3A%2F%2Fmirrorpalace.wordpress.com%2F2009%2F10%2F12%2Faphrodite-and-mirrors%2F&t=MjUzMDc2YTgyMTA0MDQyOWViMmM3MDM0YTQwNjMzNzY1YTI3NzFkOSxsZk1ZMmtTRg%3D%3D&b=t%3A99US-dd59KEFK-T_oX2E5Q&p=https%3A%2F%2Ftendergingergirl.tumblr.com%2Fpost%2F165526540486%2Firene-the-baker-st-venus&m=1)

**As our story’s mirror to Irene, Sherlock appears to go looking for his own truth. If the popular LSIT theory holds true, that** [The Hiker & the Backfire ](https://tendergingergirl.tumblr.com/post/148844622406/the-hiker-and-the-backfire-deduction-asib) **are indeed about John’s failed Romantic getaway with Sarah, it would seem that Sherlock is again, solving multiple mysteries, rolled into one.**

**The cherry for me in this tale, came from the excellent Art meta by[@sagestreet](https://tmblr.co/mlJaduhbzED-pqc0fUQi1ig)** [cleopatras-leg-the-sexy-tapestries-in-asib](https://t.umblr.com/redirect?z=http%3A%2F%2Fcleopatras-leg-the-sexy-tapestries-in-asib&t=YzRlYjQ2YTZhMjA4M2NjNTNmZTNmMWFkMTFjNGRhY2VjMzg3MTExNCxsZk1ZMmtTRg%3D%3D&b=t%3A99US-dd59KEFK-T_oX2E5Q&p=https%3A%2F%2Ftendergingergirl.tumblr.com%2Fpost%2F165526540486%2Firene-the-baker-st-venus&m=1),

_“…we get a depiction of the Goddess Aphrodite (Venus) standing behind the couple, her hand outstretched above their heads in benediction. Yes, the Goddess of Love is literally blessing (!) the two lovers just as they’re turning their faces towards each other, about to kiss, absorbed in whatever this little sex game of theirs is.;)”_

**_(OMG…these two. And it HAD to happen within close proximity to Venus.)_ **

**But to continue, we get this other bit from Sage’s meta** _: “At the height of the feast, Plutarch tells us, Cleopatra made an entrance dressed as the Goddess Aphrodite, the Goddess of Love.”_ **So, in a fun bit of the writers’ affinity for inverting, they had ~~Aphrodite~~ Irene, take and dress in ~~Cleopatra~~ Sherlock’s clothes….**

**…here, as she brandishes a phallic symbol, her ~~scepter~~ whip, another Empress motif. She did this, not just once…**

**…but twice. Irene brought Truth into John and Sherlock’s relationship, never swaying from her purpose, even as she played her game of War.**

**And why not? Venus is known in Ancient times as being the Patron Saint of Homosexual Love between men. Sappho’s poetry holds her also as a Saint for Lesbians.**[ **X**](https://t.umblr.com/redirect?z=https%3A%2F%2Fen.wikipedia.org%2Fwiki%2FLGBT_themes_in_classical_mythology&t=MmNiZDE3NTJjYzBjZWNmZTRiZDExYzMzZDFiYTA0OWIxNTBhOGY0ZixsZk1ZMmtTRg%3D%3D&b=t%3A99US-dd59KEFK-T_oX2E5Q&p=https%3A%2F%2Ftendergingergirl.tumblr.com%2Fpost%2F165526540486%2Firene-the-baker-st-venus&m=1) **Aphrodite Ourania** , **the celestial Aphrodite, born from the sea foam after Cronus castrated Uranus…also inspired homosexual male desire or, more specifically, ephebic eros.“[X](https://t.umblr.com/redirect?z=https%3A%2F%2Fen.wikipedia.org%2Fwiki%2FAphrodite&t=MmNhMGJlY2VjYTJiNWVmNTg1NDI0N2UxZDJhMTRkYTU3ZjkzOWVlNSxsZk1ZMmtTRg%3D%3D&b=t%3A99US-dd59KEFK-T_oX2E5Q&p=https%3A%2F%2Ftendergingergirl.tumblr.com%2Fpost%2F165526540486%2Firene-the-baker-st-venus&m=1)** ****_**”** In one context, she is a goddess of prostitutes; in another, she turns the hearts of men and women from sexual vice to virtue_.“ [X](https://t.umblr.com/redirect?z=https%3A%2F%2Fen.wikipedia.org%2Fwiki%2FVenus_%28mythology%29&t=MDZhYTkzOTIwNGY4YjFmNDY2ZGVlZDY3NzRkZmUyZWYyMTJiNDc1NSxsZk1ZMmtTRg%3D%3D&b=t%3A99US-dd59KEFK-T_oX2E5Q&p=https%3A%2F%2Ftendergingergirl.tumblr.com%2Fpost%2F165526540486%2Firene-the-baker-st-venus&m=1) **This could be the possible reason for her[chosen profession](https://tendergingergirl.tumblr.com/search/flagellation) in Sherlock**. **She inspires, tempers, and balances, seduces, but more importantly, communicates openly, with her own heart. She knows quite well, the secret wishes made by the hearts of Man. Well… _she knows what they like_.**

_Venus Rising by Sandro Botticelli_

_Meta inspired, as usual, by a little talk with my friends_[ _X_](https://tendergingergirl.tumblr.com/post/155043744981/the-war) _. Also, by_ **Planet Narnia: The Seven Heavens in the Imagination of C.S. Lewis** by Michael Ward, [in which he theorizes that the children in Narnia were each given the personalities of the Seven Ancient Astrological bodies](https://t.umblr.com/redirect?z=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.telegraph.co.uk%2Fnews%2Freligion%2F3536716%2FSecret-theme-behind-Narnia-Chronicles-is-based-upon-the-stars-says-new-research.html&t=NzJiNjUzMTBiODZiMWQ0ZTg2NzNkOGYzNjJhNWE4MGI1ZjU2OWYwMixsZk1ZMmtTRg%3D%3D&b=t%3A99US-dd59KEFK-T_oX2E5Q&p=https%3A%2F%2Ftendergingergirl.tumblr.com%2Fpost%2F165526540486%2Firene-the-baker-st-venus&m=1). This book is spotted behind John’s chair, in A Study In Pink. The 7th chronical is titled The Final Battle.

 


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